Hikers to memorialize Meredith Emerson

Despite the threat of weather, organizers say a planned memorial walk for Meredith Emerson will go on as planned Sunday morning at a park north of Blairsville.

Emerson was kidnapped from a trail on Blood Mountain near Blairsville on New Year’s Day and found dead three days later in Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area. Gary Michael Hilton, a drifter from Florida, has been charged in her death.

Remember M.E., the Meredith Emerson Memorial Hike/Walk is set for Sunday morning at 10 a.m. at Meeks Park in Blairsville. Following a Native American smudging ceremony and a short program, everyone is asked to walk around the park on a nature trail.

Meeks Park is a half-mile west of downtown Blairsville on Ga. 515. From McDonald’s, go west and then take the second left to Meeks Park.

The memorial had been scheduled to take place at Mountain Crossings, a hiking gear store on Blood Mountain, near the Byron Herbert Reece trail where Emerson disappeared. According to organizers, overwhelming response forced the move to a location with sufficient parking.

For more information, call Mountain Crossings at 1-888-689-4647 or go online at www.mountaincrossings.com.